title: Antibacterial effects of curcumin: An in vitro minimum inhibitory concentration study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate the antibacterial effect of curcumin with the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) method in standard bacterial strains.
  
  
  METHODS
  The in vitro antibacterial activity of curcumin was evaluated against methicillin-sensitive Staphylococcus aureus (MSSA) (ATCC 29213), methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) (ATCC 43300), Enterococcus faecalis (ATCC 29212), Bacillus subtilis (ATCC 6633), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (ATCC 27853), Escherichia coli (ATCC 25922) and Klebsiella pneumoniae (ATCC 700603) using the macrodilution broth susceptibility test method. After incubation in tubes, the antibacterial activity of curcumin was detected by a lack of turbidity, which indicated the inhibition of bacterial growth. The concentration in the tube with the highest dilution showing no turbidity was defined as the MIC.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The curcumin MIC values were 175 µg/ml, 129 µg/ml, 219 µg/ml, 217 µg/ml, 163 µg/ml, 293 µg/ml and 216 µg/ml against P. aeruginosa, B. subtilis, MSSA, MRSA, E. coli, E. faecalis and K. Pneumonia, respectively.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study revealed antibacterial effects of curcumin against standard bacterial strains in high concentrations. Animal experiments have demonstrated that curcumin applied at high doses has strong antibacterial activity. There is a need for further in vivo studies to shed light on antibacterial effects of curcumin with high concentrations.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Microbiology, Medical Faculty, Namik Kemal University, Tekirdag, Turkey dr_hgunes@yahoo.com.
authors.forename: Hayati
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Gunes
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Microbiology, Medical Faculty, Namik Kemal University, Tekirdag, Turkey.
authors.forename: Dumrul
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Gulen
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Microbiology, Medical Faculty, Namik Kemal University, Tekirdag, Turkey.
authors.forename: Reyhan
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Mutlu
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Microbiology, Medical Faculty, Namik Kemal University, Tekirdag, Turkey.
authors.forename: Abdullah
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Gumus
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Microbiology, Medical Faculty, Abant Izzet Baysal University, Bolu, Turkey.
authors.forename: Tekin
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Tas
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Microbiology, Medical Faculty, Namik Kemal University, Tekirdag, Turkey.
authors.forename: Aynur Eren
authors.initials: AE
authors.lastname: Topkaya
mesh_terms: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D001412:Bacillus subtilis / Q000187:drug effects; D003474:Curcumin / Q000494:pharmacology*; D013293:Enterococcus faecalis / Q000187:drug effects; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000187:drug effects; D007711:Klebsiella pneumoniae / Q000187:drug effects; D055624:Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus / Q000187:drug effects; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests; D011550:Pseudomonas aeruginosa / Q000187:drug effects
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D003474:Curcumin
keywords: Acute toxicity; MIC; antibacterial effect; curcumin; standard strain